Part III  Reading Comprehension (40 minutes, 40 points) 

     Direetions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each of the passages is followed by  5 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B,  C and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET with a  single line through the center. 

Passage One 

     It's a typical Snoopy card: cheerful message, bright colors, though a little yellow  and faded now. Though I've received fancier, more expensive cards over the years, this  is the only one I've saved. One summer, it spoke volumes to me. 

     I received it during the first June I faced as a widow to raise two teenage daughters  alone. In all the emotional confusion of this sudden single parenthood, I was  overwhelmed with, of all things, the simplest housework: leaky taps, oil changes, even  barbeques (燒烤). Those had always been my husband's jobs. I was embarrassed every 
time I hit my thumb with a hammer or couldn't get the lawnmower (割草機(jī)) started. My  uncertain attempts only fueled the fear inside me: How could I be both a father and  mother to my girls? Clearly, I lacked the tools and skills. 

     On this particular morning, my girls pushed me into the living room to see  s.omething. (I prayed it wasn't another repair job.) The "something" turned out to be an  envelope and several wrapped bundles on the carpet. My puzzlement must have been  plain as I gazed from the colorful packages to my daughters' bright faces. 

     "Go ahead! Open them!" they urged. As I unwrapped the packages, I discovered a  small barbecue grill (燒烤架) and all the necessary objects including a green kitchen  glove with a frog pattern on it.       

      "But why?" I asked. 

      "Happy Father's Day!" they shouted together. 

      "Morns don't get presents on Father's Day," I protested. 

      "You forgot to open the card," Jane reminded. I pulled it from the envelOpe. There  sat Snoopy, on top of his dog house, merrily wishing me a Happy Father's Day.  "Because," the girls said, "you've been a father and mother to us. Why shouldn't you be  remembered on Father's Day?"                      
      As I fought back tears, I realized they were right. I wanted to bea "professional"  dad, who had the latest tools and knew all the tricks of the trade. The girls only wanted a  parent they could count on to be there, day after day, performing repeatedly the  maintenance tasks of basic care and love. 

      The girls are grown now, and they still send meFather's Day cards, but none of  those cards means as much to me as that,first one. Its simple message told me being a  great parent didn't require any special tools at all -just a willing worker.  

31. By "it spoke volumes to me," (Para. 1) the mother in the story means the card 

　　A. made her feel important 

　　B. aroused great sorrowiia her 

　　C. brought her pleasant feelings 

　　D. conveyed significant meanings to her 

32. After her husband's death, the mother found it was the hardest to 

　　A. handle the emotional shock 

　　B. face the terrible loneliness 

　　C. keep harmony of the family 

　　D. fulfill a male role in the house 

33. What puzzled the mother when her daughters asked her to see something one  morning? 

　　A. It was not another repair job this time. 

　　B. Both of her daughters looked excited. 

　　C. She got gifts at that time of the year. 

　　D. The bundles on the floor were wrapped. 

34. The girls gave their mother a barbecue set probably because 

　　A. it was what their mother wanted 

　　B. it was a proper Father,s Day gift 

　　C. barbecue was their favorite food 

　　D. they wanted their mother to barbecue 

    35. Which of the following statements is true about the first Father's Day card? 

　　A. It showed the girls' appreciation for their mother's love. 

　　B. It praised the mother as a professional dad. 

　　C. Its fancy design impressed the mother most. 

　　D. It made the mother eager to get the latest tools. 

Passage Two 

         "Clean your plate!" and "Be a member of the clean-plate club!" Just about every   kid in the US has heard this from a parent or grandparent. Often, it's accompanied by an  appeal: "Just think about those starving orphans (孤兒) in Africa!" 

         Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food. Unfortunately, many people in  the US take a few too many bites. Instead of saying "clean the plate," perhaps we should  ,  save some food for tomorrow. 

        According to news reportsl US restaurants are partly to blame for the growing  bellies (肚子 ). A waiter puts~aplate of food in front of each customer, with two to four  times the amount recommended by the government, according to a USA Today story. 

        Americans traditionally associate quantity with value and most restaurants try to  give them that. They serve large portions to stand apart from competitors and to give the  customers value. They prefer to have customers complain about too much food rather  than too little. 

        Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at Pennsylvania State University, told USA  Today that restaurant portion sizes began to grow in the 1970s, the same time that the  American waistline began to expand. 

       Health experts have tried to get many restaurants to serve smaller portions. Now,  apparently, some customers are calling for this too. A restaurant industry trade magazine  reported last month that 57 percent of more than 4,000 people surveyed believed  restaurants serve portions that are too large; 23 percent had no opinion; 20 percent   disagreed.  But a closer look at the survey indicates that many Americans who can't afford fine  dining still prefer large portions. Seventy percent of those earning at least $150,000 per  year prefer smaller portions; but only 45 percent of those earning less than $25,000  want smaller. 

     It's not that working class Americans don't want to eat healthy. It's just that, after  long hours at low-paying jobs, getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal.  They live from paycheck to paycheck, happy to save a little money for next year's  Christmas presents. 

36. By saying "Be a member of the clean-plate club!" (Para. 1) a parent or grandparent  is asking the children to 

　　A. wash dishes after meals 

　　B. reserve food for the future 

　　C. save food for the starving Africans 

　　D. eat all the food on their plate 

37. According to news reports, US restaurants 

　　A. are partly responsible for the overweight problem 

　　B. ignore the government regulations on food amount 

　　C. serve two to four times the amount the customers want 

　　D. are partly to blame for the waste of food in America 

38. US restaurants provide large portions of food because 

　　A. most customers are calling for that 

　　B. they want to win in severe competition 

　　C. the American waistline is expanding 

　　D. it is the regulation of the restaurant industry 

39. According to the passage, working class Americans dining in restaurants 

　　A. eat less to save money 

　　B. get less on their plate 

　　C. want to get their money's value back 

　　D. do not care about their health 

40. A proper title of the passage is 

　　A. Why Restaurants Serve Large Portions 

　　B. Less Food on the Plate Is Healthier 

　　C. Clean Your Plate 

　　D. Income and Food Portion Sizes 

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